President Donald Trump typically wants to come off as the most powerful person in the room.
The 80-year-old New York City native may even use certain tactics to overshadow his counterparts on the world stage.
At the same time, Trump has ignited widespread concern that he is experiencing physical and mental decline.
Trump’s arrogance and ailing body both seemed on display during an interaction between the American president and a fellow world leader.
The president recently traveled to New York for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. He also held bilateral meetings with other countries.
On Sept. 22, French President Emmanuel Macron shared a video on social media of his one-on-one session with Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
Macron, 48, tweeted, “Having arrived in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, I met with President Trump and then [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky.”
The 23-second clip garnered a lot of attention because of a particular moment. Trump seemed to struggle to sit down on the sofa in his penthouse apartment.
Initially, the two heads of state entered the space together before Trump directed Macron to sit at the other end of the white couch.
“So, how are you?” Macron asked the MAGA leader as he sat down. After plopping down on the couch, an exasperated-looking Trump responded, “I’m good.”
The room’s gaudy decorations caught some viewers’ eyes, but a specific interaction attracted interest as well.
While Macron sat directly on the sofa, Trump placed a brown-and-green throw pillow beneath him.
Internet sleuths questioned whether Trump used the pillow as a power move to position himself higher than Macron, or whether the elderly politician needed the cushion to help himself up later.
“Trump needed that thick a— pillow to sit on. What’s up with that???” asked one eagle-eyed X user. Another noticed, “You guys never seen footage of his ugly ass apartment? Man they show clips from when Barron was a baby even the baby carriage was golden. That’s why he isn’t finished decorating the White House quite yet.”
A few people suspect Trump was sending a message to Macron without saying words.
One person pointed out, “Trump moves the couch pillow and sits on it. Weird. Is he so pathetic he thinks he looks taller …”
Someone else replied, “I never caught that. F—king hilarious. Always wants to appear as big as his adversaries.” A fourth poster suspected, “Because he can’t get up out of the seat.”
Since his return to the White House in January 2025, the state of Trump’s health and wellness has remained a major topic of conversation.
The oldest person ever inaugurated to the presidency cannot escape constant scrutiny over his regularly bruised hands and swollen ankles.
In 2025, Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a condition that can cause skin discoloration and swelling in the lower limbs.
Add in Trump continuously falling asleep at televised events and rambling during public speeches, and unease grows over his fitness for office.
Even after the physician to the president, Dr. Sean Barbabella, claimed Trump is in “excellent health” following a medical exam in May, critics remained skeptical of the findings.
An official White House memorandum listed Trump at 6 feet 3 inches tall and 224 pounds. Those measurements would give him a physical frame similar to that of an active NFL wide receiver.
Photos of Trump have not painted the former host of “The Apprentice” in the best light. For instance, an image from July showed him looking particularly rotund aboard Marine One.
Photographers captured the POTUS seated in an oversized captain’s chair inside the helicopter. Online trolls had a field day clowning him for engulfing the seat.
Trump’s sit-down with Macron in New York is the latest chapter in the ongoing story about the American president’s well-being. However, this time a pillow starred as the main character.
Even if the sofa situation was more of a show of dominance than necessary eldercare, the unintended outcome is the most powerful person on the planet coming off as feeble to many observers.
